


/ 



COTTON 



The Mill Man's Point of View 



By 

D. A. TOMPKINS 

CHARLOTTE, N. C. 



COPYRIGHT, 1904 



V^v 



CHARLOTTE, N. C. 

Observer Printing House 

1904 



S5 ^4-^ 



Cotton— The Mill Man's Point of Vie 



w. 



Address before National Cotton Conveiitioii, held at Shre-t'e- 
port. La., Dee. 12-15, i'^)04. ^'V D. A. Toiupki^is, Charlotte, 
North Carolina. 

The Twentieth century in its beginning holds out unusual 
fair promise to the people of the cotton-growing states of 
America. I have often pointed out how the cotton planter and 
cotton farmer has been compelled since the civil war to double 
the production of cotton each decade, and yet not receive any 
increased money for the increased crop. Speaking roughly, 
and in round numbers, and in average figures, the production 
and the gross income from cotton since the civil war has been 
as follows : 

First decade, 2^ million bales at 24 cents a pound, equal 
$300,000,000. 

Second decade, 5 million bales at 12 cents a pound, equal 
$300,000,000. 

Third decade 10 million bales at 6 cents a pound, equal 
$300,000,000. 

Fourth decade, 10 million bales at 10 cents a pound, equal 
$500,000,000. 

Last year the price possibly brought the average to 12 cents 
a pound for the last decade, which brought a gross income of 
just about double what the Southern cotton planter and farm- 
er has heretofore worked for. Formerly there were produced 
in each succeeding decade 100 per cent, more cotton and the 
price was cut in half. From the third to the fourth decade there 
was no increase, the quantity remaining about 10 million bales, 
but the price practically douliled. This situation would seem to 
he an ideal one for the Southern farmer, yet it is not without 
its menaces and dangers at the present time. Among these I 
enumerate : 

3 



( 1 ) The ])oll weevil ; 

(2) The determination of the spinners of Europe to foster 
and develope the production of cotton in other parts of the 
world ; 

(3) The increasing scarcity of labor suitable for cotton 
farms ; 

(4) Speculation. 

For the purpose of maintaining the present favorable con- 
ditions for the cotton farmer, there must be counteracting in- 
fluences developed to protect the American cotton industry 
against these menaces. 

THE BOLL WLLVIL. 

The boll weevil is not the first pest which has brought dis- 
couragement to the cotton farmer. In the case of others a way 
has been found to practically destroy the pests before they 
have seriously injured the plant or diminished the crop. I 
have confidence that a way wall be found to practically elimi- 
nate the ravages of the boll weevil. I appreciate that the 
Federal Government has done much service and valuable 
work, and that the report of its agents are not overly encour- 
aging, yet in the past the magnitude of this menace has not 
been appreciated except by those where the boll weevil existed. 
It is only now that the people of the whole cotton area and 
through their influence, the government itself has just 
awakened to the importance of making more comprehensive 
efforts of bringing more varied talents to bear upon the ques- 
tion. I have no doubt that in due course of time a remedy 
will be found which will destroy this evil as has been done 
with other pests before. 

COTTON IN AFRICA. 

The production of cotton in America on a large scale has de- 
veloped a market for cotton goods the world over, which 
makes 3 cotton supply to meet the requirements of this market, 
one of the most important elements in agriculture. The in- 

4 



creasing and pressing demands of this market while the crop 
has not heen increased in America, has tremendously empha- 
sized the importance to the European manufacturer of look- 
ing elsewhere to get the cotton necesary to meet the market re- 
quirements. There are many who think that nothing will 
come of the efforts of the various cotton-growing associations 
of Europe. They cite the fact that during the civil war the 
production from the rest of the world was not materially in- 
creased. During the civil war it was well known that as soon 
as the war was over the South would again promptly supply 
the world with good cotton at a cheap price. The stringency 
during the war was looked upon as a purely temporary con- 
dition. Aside from this, four years is not sufficient time to 
develop any great industry to any great extent. The present 
condition in the L^nited States does not seem to promise any 
very great increase in the cotton crop, but it promises a con- 
tinued high price. The tendency throughout the cotton-grow- 
ing states is to increase manufacturing interests and not the 
production of cotton, at least the manufacturing interest is rel- 
atively increasing to a greater extent than the agriculture in- 
terest. The people who are interested in the cotton growing 
associations in Europe are men well accustomed to large en- 
terprise and to the making of comprehensive plans for what- 
ever they undertake. It is idle for us to rest in the present sit- 
uation and to feel that the Europeans can accomplish nothing. 
It is exceedingly important if we would maintain our position 
in cotton production, we must give heed to each of the men- 
aces which threatens to tiu'n any part of the production which 
we have heretofore supplied, over to the people of other parts 
of the world. I am one who believes that the practical monop- 
oly which we have had in the past can be continued if we will 
protect the conditions surrounding the ])roduction of cotton 
against menacing influences and if we bring about, in the place 
of the menaces, fostering influences. 

SCARCITY OF LABOR. 

The establishment and increase of manufacturing interests 

5 



in the South and the revival and increase of commerce, and of 
tlie transportation facihties necessary for commerce, have not 
onl\- al)sorbed the actual increase of population in the v^outh, 
Init have drawn much laljor from the cotton fields. ^Nluch of 
the labor which has lived on the farms now finds some profi- 
table occupation in producing perishable food stufifs, cutting 
wood and in supplying fuel to that large population which has 
quit the farm and found profitable occupation in the factories, 
on the rail roads or in the commerce of the cotton growing 
states. Cotton is no less profitaljle than it ever was. ( )n the 
contrary, its production is more profitable perhaps than ever 
before in its history, and yet these other profitable occupations 
are so attractive to a large proportion of the population that it 
has made cotton production stand practically still for ten 
vears. The remedy for this deficiency lies in two direc- 
tions : 

( 1 ) In part we need white emigration to the cotton states. 

( 2 ) In part we need more machinery specially adapted to 
do the farm operations connected with cotton farming with 
less lalior. 

We particularly need a cotton picking machine. 

This is a difficult proposition, and yet in this present sit- 
uation it would seem no more difficult than a sewing machine 
seemed before it was invented. In the abstract it is no more 
complex problem than that of harvesting, binding and other- 
wise handling wheat as is done by the modern machines. A 
number of people are already at work on a cotton picker. 
Three efforts are in some degree notable. Those of Mr. C. T. 
Mason of Sumter, S. C, wdio is said to have produced a 
machine that picked cotton at the rate of 2,uoo lbs. 
per day. This was a machine drawn by a mule. The enter- 
prise was abandoned for the reason that the promoters found 
it to be absorbing more money than they were willing to ])ut 
out. While it picked a great quantity of cotton in one day, 
man}- of the parts were delicate and it easily got out of order. 
These difficulties would ])r()])al)ly have been overcome by con- 
tinued experiment and continued efi^ort. The .American Cot- 
ton Picker Company of Pittsburg, Pa., has had a machine 

6 



in process of development for several years. This company is 
giving" attention to two main points — one is, to the produc- 
tion of a machine that will pick the cotton all right, and the 
second is, to the development of a variety of cotton which is 
specially adapted to be picked by machinery. The third effort 
is that of Mr. Theo. H. Price of New York, who has bought 
some patents on cotton picking machinery and is backing some 
experiments looking to the development of a machine. It 
now costs aljout one hundred million dollars a year to pick 
the cotton crop. The power used is particularly the power of 
the fingers. This is like it was with sewing when it had to 
be done by hand, the quantity of sewing which could be done 
in a day by a woman was multiplied many fold when she could 
use part of the strength of her l)ody to do the work instead of 
her fingers, and it was immensely multiplied when it could be 
done bv power. So with cotton picking, wdien a device is 
invented by which man power or mule power can be applied 
to picking cotton instead of finger power, the greatest defic- 
iency of labor now existing will have been overcome. With 
a successful machine operated by mule power, the cost of 
picking cotton might be reduced from lOO millions of dollars 
per year to lo millions dollars per year. Thus there is a 
premium of 75 or 80 million dollars a year for a successful 
cotton picker, even after making big allowances for repairs, 
cost of machinery and cost of labor necessary to handle the 
mule and the machine. If we can get a successful cotton 
picker and could turn one-quarter the European emigration 
now coming into the United States to the cotton states, we 
will have supplied all the deficiency of labor that there is — the 
greater part by the machine, and the remainder by the white 
European emigrant. 

SPECULATION. 

The cotton plant is one of the most delicate of the agri- 
cultural products. It is produced in a climate that varies 
enough to make the variation in cotton production range from 
150 lbs. of lint cotton per acre to 225 lbs. of lint cotton per 

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acre. One frost might make this dilTerence from one year to 
another, l^ecause of the extreme clehcacy of the plant and of 
•extreme variations in chmatic conditions. We furnish to the 
world one year a crop which is overwhelmingly big- and the 
next year a crop which is insufficient to supply the ordinary 
demands. This creates a condition in which the speculator 
holds high carnival in dealing in cotton. The legitimate mer- 
chant and the manufacturer are made to turn gambler whether 
they will or not and the ordinary course of trade is tremend- 
ously disturbed. The average production for lo years if it 
could be maintained, would bring- about an average price. In- 
asmuch as the climate forbids this, from one year to another it 
is important that the production shall be by some ar- 
tificial means brought to more or less of an average 
and thereby the price would be brought to an ap- 
proximate average. I believe that this might best be 
done by the development of a system of warehouses which 
did far more than shelter and care for the cotton. Existing 
warehouses simply issue a receipt for a bale of cotton. No 
effort is made to state what kind of cotton the receipt stands 
for, nor does the warehouse company assume any responsi- 
bility for the grade, weight, or anything else connected with 
the cotton. Insurance is higher than it ought to be. I be- 
lieve that if a comprehensive warehouse company would en- 
gage the best graders to be had, and would issue a certificate 
in which every factor relating to the bale of cotton was ac- 
curatelv entered, and the warehouse company stand respons- 
ible for the description of the cotton as given in the receipt, 
that such a receipt could be traded in to better advantage than 
the bale of cotton itself. The purchaser of the receipt in 
Carolina, in England or in Germany would know more about 
the particular bale of cotton in question from the receipt in 
hand, than he would know about it if he saw the bale of cot- 
ton. Cotton being one of the very best collaterals on the mar- 
ket, such receipts standing for the cotton exactly, might be 
traded in in the financial institutions of the Whole world. 
Thus it would be feasible to bring cotton within the reach of 
all the surplus money of the world and when there was a large 



crop, the surplus would undoubtedly be carried over by finan- 
cial institutions as investments until a small crop should bring 
the price to an average. It would save the forcing of the sur- 
plus on to the market and by proper construction of ware- 
houses, proper protection against fire and building in proper 
units, the cost of carrying cotton could be very much reduced 
bv reduction of insurance and by reduction of interest rate in 
consec^uence of the certificate being an accurate representa- 
tion of the cotton itself and being as good for money in Prov- 
idence or Liverpool as in the town in which the warehouse is 
located. I exhibit herewith the picture of a warehouse which 
I have designed to carry from 20 to 30 thousand bales of cot- 
ton according to weight and extent of compression. I exhibit 
also a receipt which not only stands for a bale of cotton, but 
gives the general classification, the grade, the length of the 
staple, the degree of tinge, the degree of softness, the degree 
of fineness, and all these points are given in accordance with 
the judgment and the skill of the best and most expert grad- 
ers obtainable. Therefore the record written l)y the expert 
would make a certificate representing a bale of cotton stand 
for more to a purchaser than if an average unexpert purchaser 
could see the bale of cotton himself. This certificate would 
stand for more to a banker in Liverpool or in Bremen than the 
cotton would to the average man who was in the tow:i where 
the cotton was located and he could see the cotton. It would, in 
addition to having the record of an expert's judgment on every 
feature of the particular Ijale of the cotton, also have the back- 
ing of a responsible company guaranteeing this record. Such 
a svstem of warehouses with such a receipt would tremend- 
ously simplify the purchase by a mill man of cotton in ware- 
house, no matter where located in the cotton growing district. 
The European spinner by the purchase of these certificates 
could become the owner of cotton in Memphis with absolute 
confidence that with a certificate in hand he knew more about 
the cotton than if he could see it in Alemjihis and with the 
further absolute confidence that the responsibility of the ware- 
house company insured his getting the cotton wdienever he 
w^antcd it, and yet equally insured its safe keeping for him as 

10 



long- as the owners of the certificate wanted him to do so. 
B}- making- it feasible for a mill man to buy cotton from the 
owner in warehouse outside the territory, and by bringing 
cotton into shape where it could be held as an investment and 
the surplus carried over from one season to another as an in- 
vestment, speculation would necessarily have a much narrower 
field of operations than now, and the cotton spinner would 
have an infinitely better situation in respect to buying cotton 
than he has now. 



^^' 



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Classification 




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Length of 
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Softness of 
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Fineness of 
SUple 

Bate 

Number 







Weight 


1 




Classification 






Grade 








Tinge 






Length of 
Staple 




Softness of 
Staple 



Fineness of 
Staple 



Bale 
Number 



Classification 


Grade 


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Tinge 


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Length of 
Staple 


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Softness of 
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Fineness of 
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Sea Island 

Egyptian 

Rivers 

Benders 

Peelers 

Uplands 




No. Grade No 

1. Fair. 19 

2. Strict Middling Fair. 20 

3. Middling Fair. 21 

4. Barely Middling Fair. 22 

5. Strict Good Middling. 23 

6. Fully Good Middling. 24 

7. Good Middling. 25 

8. Barely Good Middling. -26 

9. Strict Middling. 27 

10. Middling. 28 

11. Strict Low Middling. 29 

12. Fully Low Middling. 30 

13. Low Middling. 31 

14. Barely Low Middling. 32 
1.5. Strict Good Ordinary. 33 

16. Fully Good Ordinary. 34 

17. Good Ordinary. 35 

18. Strict Good Middling Tinged. 


GRADES 

AMERICAN STANDARD CLASSIFICATION 


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Grade 

Good Middling Tinged 
Strict Middling Tinged. 
Middling Tinged. 
Strict Low Middling Tinged. 
Low Middling Tinged. 
Strict Good Ordinary Tinged. 
Fully Middling Stained. 
Middling Stained. 
Barely Middling Stained. 
Strict Low Middling Stained. 
Fully Low Middling Stainedl 
Low Middling Stained. 


Inches. 

S-8 

7-16 

1-2 

9-16 

5-8 
11-16 

3-4 
13-16 

7-8 
15-1 


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Millimetres 
9.625 
11.1125 
12.7 
14-2857 
15.875 
17,4625 
19.06 
20.6475 
22.225 
23.8125 


Co 


Inches 

1 
1 1-16 
1 1-8 
1 3-16 
1 1-5 
1 5-16 
1 3-38 
1 7-16 
1 1-2 




Millimetres 
25.4001 
26,9876 
28.5751 
30.1626 
31.751 
33.3385 
34.9251 
36.5126 
38.1001 




Tinges : 
Figure 1 represents a very slight tinge. 
Figure 10 repre.sents a maximum tinge. 
Intervening figures represent interme- 
diate tinges from 1 to 10. 
Softness of Staple : 

Figure 1 represents softest staple. 
Figure 10 represents hardest staple. 
Intervening figures represent interme- 
diate degrees of softness in proportion 
to figures. 
Fineness of Staple : 
Figure 1 represents the fineness of best 

Sea Island. 
Figure 10 represents the coarsest fibre. 
Figure 5 represents gcoi grade of Amer- 
ican Uplands. 
Intervening figures represent interven- 
ing degrees of fineness. 


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